Saturday, May 31, 2014

Música Campesina, currently showing on HBO Signature, is a rough hewn marvel of a film. Made for $20,000 and shot on a Panasonic DSLR, Música Campesina (Country Music) is the story of a Chilean tourist named Alejandro (Pablo Cerda) who makes a poorly planned trip to America and eventually ends up in Nashville. Friendless and flat broke, Alejandro wanders the surreal landscape of cheap motels and country music dives that line bustling Interstate 40. As we learn more about this enigmatic figure, a comical and poignant backstory is revealed and Alejandro becomes a living symbol of the rustic romantic ideals found in many country music ballads.

Written and directed by Chilean filmmaker Alberto Fuget, at the time an Artist-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University, the film has a mood similar to RIchard Linklater’s early work, with a few darker doses of Michael Haneke’s alienation thrown into the mix. Think Slacker meets Code Unknown and you’re in the ballpark. The editing is intentionally arrhythmic, giving viewers plenty of time to appreciate the film’s subtle eccentricities. The bulk of the film’s first act consists of telephone conversations that cleverly establish Alejandro’s lack of options, and give us the first hint that there’s more going on here than just a character study of an aimless drifter.

Along the way, Alejandro befriends two young hipsters (James Cathcart and Cole Kinnear) and their largely improvised conversations are often hilarious while having an undeniable ring of truth. These scenes, filmed on a ramshackle front porch where you can almost feel the global warming, are among the film’s best and presage an upward turn in Alejandro’s dour prospects. Fuget captures naturalist moments without a trace of that smug ironic stammering that passes for realist performances in so many recent Hollywood films. Perhaps it takes an outsider’s eye to truly appreciate the humidity laced quirks of post-millennial red state America.

If you enjoyed the somber yet amusing flavors of recent films like Inside Llewyn Davis and Nebraska, you’ll find Música Campesina cut from similar cloth. Its ending feels a bit removed from the real world - perhaps an evocation of a dream - yet it brings the film’s allegorical thesis full circle in a satisfying way. As Alejandro adjusts to his new world, and vice-versa, he learns an important lesson. None of life’s inevitable setbacks are ever wasted, especially on Country Western singers.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

TCM kicks off summer with a mix of the silly and the sublime. Bad sci-fi and a Rock Hudson - Doris Day festival stand along side such heavyweights as Night and Fog and Kieslowski's Colors trilogy. Truly something for everyone this month. My picks below. All times Eastern. Full schedule HERE

Friday, May 16, 2014

Million Dollar Arm (2014) is a feel good, underdog, fish out of water (or whatever additional cliche you choose) movie that’s entirely predictable. But it’s so well executed even the most cynical viewer will succumb to its seductive charms. The film boasts an impressive pedigree. Written by Thomas McCarty (The Station Agent, The Visitor) and directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl), Million Dollar Arm doesn’t suffer from lack of creative talent, and the subtle touches and skillful flourishes of these artisans lift the material beyond its family-friendly genre origins.

Jon Hamm stars as an ultra-slick sports agent who botches the signing of an elite NFL linebacker, sending his firm into a financial tailspin. With the help of a wealthy investor (veteran character actor Tzi Ma), Hamm hatches a scheme to recruit two cricket bowlers from India, convert them into pitching prospects and popularize Major League Baseball in the world’s second most populous nation. After an exhaustive search, Hamm discovers Rinko (Suraj Sharma from Life of Pi) and Dinesh (Madhur Mittal from Slumdog Millionaire) and brings these two athletic bumpkins from rural India to L.A. where a stunning dose of culture shock awaits.

From there the proceedings strike a familiar tone, as the young men work with USC’s baseball coach (Bill Paxton) and struggle mightily to prepare themselves for their Big League tryout; a regimen complete with small victories, major setbacks and deepening personal relationships. Throughout it all, Hamm thankfully embraces his inner Don Draper, and applies that character’s fascinating ethos of honorable sleaze in a winning fashion. In his recent big screen appearances, Hamm has attempted to run away from his Draper history, and obscure the iconic Mad Men character in a swirl of forced enthusiasm and eccentric line readings. Million Dollar Arm shows us the alternate universe Don Draper, a talented but deeply flawed man who may have selected sports agency over advertising, but uses equally fine-honed instincts to overcome adversity and survive.

In support are strong performances from Lake Bell (In a World) as Hamm’s slowly developing love interest, Pitobash (Slumdog Millionaire) as India’s biggest baseball fan and Alan Arkin who, as usual, nearly steals the movie as a grumpy, eccentric old-school baseball scout (Note to self: Be Alan Arkin when you grow up). Million Dollar Arm accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: provide a pleasant and ultimately lovable afternoon at the movies. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Fear of Fear is an entertaining Fassbinder made-for-TV ditty that offers a skewed glimpse into German family life in the 1970s. Margit Carstensen, perennial Fassbinder favorite and a sort of Teutonic Faye Dunaway, stars as Margot; a young hausfrau and mother. For reasons that are never made clear, Margot fears she is going insane. Actually, the dreadful wallpaper in Margot’s apartment is enough to drive anyone stark raving looney, but I digress.

Margot’s paranoia begins a downward spiral in her behavior, characterized by drug abuse, alcohol addiction, infidelity and, worst of all, a complete disinterest in fresh vegetables. The film has a creepy feel leavened by melodrama as Margot is constantly bombarded by her meddling mother-in-law (Brigitte Mira) and the icy disinterest of her engineer husband Kurt (Ulrich Falhaber). For some reason, these suffering German housewives always seem to have a disinterested husband named Kurt. We follow Margot through a life-altering chain of events that starts quite small, but ultimately blooms into life-threatening issues.

We experience the horrors of socialized medicine, as Margot has one doctor who makes housecalls in the middle of the night and another who will give her any medication she requires at a moment’s notice. However those meds come at a very high moral price. The production values are no better or worse than American TV of this era - everyone seems to cast three shadows and zoom lenses are used and abused – but Carstensen’s mysterious dramatic textures do a fine job of holding our interest for the duration.

Background music is used in ways that are startling, yet strangely appropriate, and reminds us that at the helm of this pulpy potboiler is a director with unique sensibilities. These little German TV soaps almost qualify as a distinct genre. Fassbinder, Wenders and Herzog all made a living from them, and they can justifiably be considered minor-league art films. Like homemade wine, Fear of Fear has a harsh first bite, but eventually delivers a pleasing diversion.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The 67th annual Festival de Cannes opens May 14. Here's part two of a look at the films selected for the main competition. Also included are the latest betting odds (yes there are bookies who take action on Cannes) for entertainment purposes only.

Saint Laurent (Bertrand Bonello, France)

This biopic of the iconic French designer stars Gaspard Ulliel, Louis Garrel and Lea Seydoux. Musician turned director Bonello has been in competition twice previously, with House of Pleasures (2011) and Tiresia (2003).

Odds 40/1

The Search (Michel Hazanavicius, France)

A remake of Fred Zinnemann’s 1948 Oscar winner of the same title, this film stars Berenice Bejo and Annette Bening. Set amid the violence of Chechnya, expect a much darker tone than Hazanavicius’ previous hit The Artist (2011).

Odds 28/1

Still the Water (Naomi Kawase, Japan)

Kawase and Alice Rohrwacher are the only female directors with films in competition this year. Still the Waters is a mystery/romance set on the Japanese island of Amami-Oshima. No stranger to Cannes, Kawase won the Grand Prix for 2007’s The Mourning Forest and the Camera d’Or for her 1997 debut, Suzaku.

Odds 10/1

Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, France)

Set in northern Mali, this film is all about a young couple who were stoned to death for "not being married before God." Sissako was previously selected for competition in 2006 for Baranko.

Odds 5/1

Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium)

The Belgian brothers are back with another tale of working class strife. Marion Cotillard stars as a woman trying to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses so she can keep her job. Olivier Gourmet and Fabrizio Rongione round out the cast. The film marks the Dardennes' sixth entry in Cannes competition and they've won the Palme d'Or twice; for Rosetta (1999) and L'enfant (2006).

Odds 16/1

Wild Tales (Damian Szifron, Argentina-Spain)

Szifron's first film to be selected by Cannes, Wild Tales is described as a series of comic sketches. Pedro Almodovar is one of the film's producers.

Odds 33/1

Winter Sleep (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey-Germany-France)

Festival - and betting - favorite Ceylan is once again in competition with what appears to be another beautifully photographed drama set in the mysterious landscapes of rural Turkey. Ceylan won Best Director in 2008 for Three Monkeys and has taken the Grand Prix twice: in 2002 for Distant and in 2011 for Once Upon a Time in Anatolia but the Palme d'Or has thus far eluded him. Could this be the year?

Monday, May 12, 2014

The 67th annual Festival de Cannes opens May 14. Here's part one of a look at the films selected for the main competition. Also included are the latest betting odds (yes there are bookies who take action on Cannes) for entertainment purposes only.

The Captive (Atom Egoyan, Canada)

A kidnapping thriller starring Ryan Reynolds, Scott Speedman and Rosario Dawson, Egoyan previously won the Grand Prix in 1997 for The Sweet Hereafter.

Odds 35/1

Clouds of Sils Maria (Olivier Assayas, France-Switzerland-Germany)

This English-language film is all about a famous actress who withdraws to a town in Switzerland and stars Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Chloe Grace Moretz. Assayas has been in competition at Cannes several times but has yet to win.

Odds 16/1

Foxcatcher (Bennett Miller, U.S.)

Starring Channing Tatum, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo, this bio-pic deals with the tragic true story of the Schultz brothers, and their deadly involvement with eccentric millionaire John duPont. From the director of Capote and Moneyball.

Odds 22/1

Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard, Switzerland)

This film marks the seventh time the 83 year-old director has been up for the Palme d'Or. Shot in 3D, Goodbye to Language is the sort of oddity that might have a special appeal to the jury.

Odds 10/1

The Homesman (Tommy Lee Jones, U.S.)

Tommy Lee Jones makes a welcome return to directing with this off beat western, concerning the transportation of a group of insane women to a hospital in Iowa. Hilary Swank, Meryl Streep and Grace Gummer are among the cast of notables.

Odds 18/1

Jimmy’s Hall (Ken Loach, U.K.-Ireland-France)

The legendary social-realist director makes his 12th trip to Cannes with this docudrama about Irish communist leader James Grafton. The 78 year-old Loach has hinted this may be his last feature. He won the Palme d’Or in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

Odds 25/1

Leviathan (Andrei Zvyagintsev, Russia)

The moody Russian minimalist returns with a drama that promises elements of class struggle and sci-fi. Zvyagintsev's previous film Elena closed Un Certain Regard in 2011. Expect it to be on the short list for the Palme d'Or.

Odds 5/1

Le Meraviglie (Alice Rohrwacher, Italy-Switzerland-Germany)

Rohrwacher is one of two female directors selected for competition this year. Le Meraviglie is a coming of age story set in the Umbrian countryside. It features a 14-year-old girl whose sheltered life is disrupted by a young German ex-con. Monica Bellucci has a supporting role.

Odds 16/1

Maps to the Stars (David Cronenberg, Canada-U.S.-France-Germany)

This satire of Hollywood lifestyles has generated lots of good buzz, and it marks the 5th time a Cronenberg film has screened in competition. Carrie Fisher, Julianne Moore and Robert Pattinson star. It's the type of story that should resonate with the judges.

Odds 11/2

Mommy (Xavier Dolan, France-Canada)

L'enfant terrible Xavier Dolan is back with the story of a single mom struggling to raise her troubled teenage son. Dolan regulars Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clément return for this latest outing.